The invention at hand relates to a novel coated leather, preferably a split leather, in particular a split cowhide, having the features mentioned in the characteristics of said claim.
It relates to a leather that is characterized by a perfect nubuck feel and nubuck visual appearance; that is intended for use in shoes, sandals and special shoes, in saddles for motorcycles and bicycles as well as in the interior trim and upholstery of boats, in medical and hospital equipment and the like, and moreover in the coverings of structural components of the interior equipment of vehicles; and that has a new, nubuck-like visual as well as haptic quality.
It relates in particular to such a leather that meets the specific requirements of the vehicle sector to the highest degree and which furthermore meets the stringent requirements of group 1 and 2 safety footgear.
The new coated leather is modeled on genuine nubuck leather: the latter is made by grinding the shagreened upper side. During this process, fine fibers are formed and the surface becomes matte and fine-grained rough. Nubuck leather, in its new state, has an interesting and beautiful visual appearance and optimal haptics.
However, major disadvantages of genuine nubuck leather lie in the fact that haptics and visual appearance change towards the negative with and through use after a short time. The originally fine-grained and elegantly matte surface quickly becomes greasy. This will lead to the pleasant touch being lost as well. Genuine nubuck leathers intrinsically soil very quickly; watery stains leave spots and borders that can no longer be removed. Lightfastness of genuine nubuck leathers is insufficient to poor. Color abrasion properties in their dry state are poor, and even more so when wet.
Abrasion resistance is insufficient especially in the case of safety shoes and athletic shoes because even after a short time of use of the shoes, abrasion wear and tear shows at the locations of stress which always goes hand in hand with discoloration.
For these reasons, genuine nubuck leather is almost never used particularly in the vehicle sector, and in the case of shoes and other basic commodities, the leathers are impregnated with oily and wax-like substances which improves their usage properties but which also considerably degrades their visual appearance and haptics.